Microsoft pulls Java from download page
C|Net | at | by Mike
The company ceased the install-on-demand feature Wednesday, 30 days after the company told Sun it would reinstate Java in Windows XP through the forthcoming Service Pack 1 but remove it altogether in 2004. Microsoft said the option was removed to take an issue off the table in legal actions with Java inventor Sun Microsystems.
Under a 2001 settlement 1997 lawsuits between Sun and Microsoft, Sun granted Microsoft a license to distribute Java with existing products, but under an antitrust suit this year, Sun argued Microsoft didn't have the right to distribute the software on line. Microsoft disagrees, but decided to remove the Java download so it wouldn't be an issue, despite the inconvenience it may cause customers, said Jim Cullinan, Microsoft's lead product manager for Windows.